1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that writes a reference magnetic signal for track positioning onto a high density magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk. In particular, the present invention relates to a device in which the writing time for the reference magnetic signal is reduced.
2. Related Background Art
A reference magnetic signal for track positioning is recorded in advance on a high density magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk.
In the past, recording of the reference magnetic signal for track positioning has been performed after the disk is inserted in a drive, with a head arm positioned by a pushpin that is provided in an external position. In recent years, however, it is getting harder to use this method to record a reference signal with precision high enough to satisfy requirements. This is due to restrictions in track mechanism precision, rigidity, and the like that accompany increased track density.
A method of writing the reference signal by using a high-precision, high-rigidity spin stand before incorporating the disk into the drive has been employed recently as a high density reference signal recording technique.
However, there is a problem in that costs related to writing the reference signal increase because devices that implement this method are expensive, in particular, because recording a reference signal that corresponds to a high track density requires a long period of time.